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Losing weight is a popular goal for tons of people, but it can be difficult to keep up with your ambitions over the long term. More often than not, people are put off by the immense amount of work you need to put into your lifestyle and diet to shed some pounds.
Some try every trick under the sun, only to no avail. It's understandable when people get frustrated and quit their fitness journey due to exhaustion and mental fatigue.
However, weight loss doesn't have to be so taxing on the mind and body. If you're looking for a way to lose weight in four weeks and maintain it after the initial phase while preserving your energy, read on to know how.
Four-week Weight Loss Without Feeling Exhausted
Here's how you can do it:
#1 Get plenty of sleep
When it comes to weight loss, sleep is important for many reasons. First and foremost, not getting enough sleep can make you feel sluggish the next day.
When you're tired and unmotivated to exercise or cook healthy meals, it’s easy to just grab a slice of pizza from the fridge instead of making yourself a salad. Sleep also hampers muscular growth.
The amount of hard work you put in the gym when you lift weights is only fruitful when you get a good night's rest to repair your broken-down muscles. Without sound sleep, all that hard work goes down the drain.
Moreover, lack of sleep has been linked with higher cortisol levels — the stress hormone that can lead to weight gain over time — and also disrupts your blood sugar level and insulin sensitivity (which has implications for diabetes).
Finally, insufficient amounts of shut-eye have been shown to increase hunger pangs by making food seem more appealing than usual. That's due to an increased desire for carbohydrates after waking up at night without eating anything during the day (this phenomenon is known as 'nighttime hunger').
#2 Eat more protein
The first step to losing weight is cutting down your calorie intake. Protein keeps you full and helps build muscle, which can make it easier to lose weight. It also preserves muscle while you are losing fat. As protein is denser than other macronutrients, you can eat less of it and still stay satiated for long hours.
Protein repairs muscles, provides them with nutrition, and helps keep the body running smoothly and supports a healthy metabolism so that it burns more calories each day.
#3 Increase fiber intake
To lose weight in a healthy way, you need to pay attention to your diet. Eating foods that are high in fiber can help you feel full for longer and regulate your blood sugar levels.
Fiber also helps keep cholesterol levels down, which can reduce risk of heart disease and other health issues. Fiber also helps digest protein, so if you're following the previous bit of advice, this goes hand in hand.
To increase fiber intake, try adding more whole grains (like brown rice or quinoa), vegetables (like broccoli), and fruits to your diet. If you find it difficult to get enough fiber from food alone, consider taking supplements daily before meals so that you don't miss out on any benefits.
#4 Drink more water
Drinking enough water is essential to losing weight. It helps the body function better and assists in the burning of calories.
You should drink about eight glasses a day, but if you're trying to lose weight, it's recommended that you drink at least 10-12 glasses per day. When it comes to drinking water, aim for half your bodyweight in ounces each day (a 200 lb person would aim for 100 oz or three liters).
Drinking water before, during, and after exercise can help reduce muscle cramping and dehydration during workouts. Water consumption also helps relieve hunger and cravings, which can cause you to eat more than necessary, causing further weight gain. So make sure to drink plenty of water while exercising.
#5 Practice food journaling, and track your calories
The next step to losing weight is to track your calories, food intake, and exercise. That will help you see what you're eating, how many calories you're consuming each day, and if you're burning enough calories through exercise.
Tracking your calorie intake is a very important part of losing weight, as it helps prevent overeating. By tracking your calorie intake, you will know many calories have been consumed each day. That can then be compared to what should be eaten to ensure no weight gain or even lose some weight, if needed.
Recording your daily food intake can show whether there has been too much or too little consumed over time. That enables anyone with an eating disorder such as bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder to manage their condition better by knowing how much food they eat in one sitting versus throughout the day.
#6 Don't overtrain
This cannot be stressed enough — don't overtrain. Yes, spending too much time in the gym is surprisingly bad.
Your workouts should be short and intense, not long and drawn out. You don't need to work out every day to lose weight — in fact, it's better for your body if you take a rest day once or twice a week. If you're working out more than five times a week, consider cutting back on those sessions so that they're shorter but still challenging enough to make a difference in your routine and muscles.
Additionally, don't work out for an hour or more at a time; aim instead for 30–40 minutes at most. If you can talk while working out, your workout is probably too easy.
You should also mix up the types of exercises you do so that they get equal attention without taxing any one muscle group too much. If possible, keep an eye on how many repetitions per set are recommended for each exercise type to ensure not overdoing it.
Takeaway
If you're looking to lose weight in a healthy way, there are plenty of ways for you to do so. Just remember that slow and steady wins the race.
Don't expect instant results if your body isn't accustomed to a new workout routine or diet plan. Give yourself at least four weeks before expecting any noticeable changes in your body shape or size.
